I AM the Football Star

”In three matches against San Remo, Carrel has scored a total of six goals. He’s a bona fide San Remo slayer!”

”San Remo may have won this match, but they’ve still lost their chance to keep fighting on in the Champions League.”

”Lu Yang has already played well enough, but it seems…it still isn’t time for him to ascend the throne.”

”This year, whether it’s Serie A or the Champions League, there’s a high chance it will belong to the Purple Lily!”

”This year, football is purple!”

With a non-typical goal, Carrel killed the game.

The cheers of San Remo fans around the world were cut short.

A goal in the last minute of regulation time.

Why!

Why was it San Remo who were creating miracles just one second ago?

Is it really time to say goodbye?

Countless fans burst into tears in an instant.

Reality is often this cruel.

When it drifts away from you, you don’t even have time to say goodbye.

On the pitch, Morici’s eyes turned red.

He had never thought his and Lu Yang’s last season together would end like this.

After the summer, he and Lu Yang would be going their separate ways.

He had thought their departure would end with an exclamation point.

But he never expected it would end with an ellipsis.

The only symbol in literature that can truly express regret.

Three and a half years!

In those three and a half years together, they had won countless honors.

But the more romantic and wonderful a bond is…the harder the parting hits.

”Oh! Morici is crying!”

”The match isn’t over yet, but Morici is already in tears!”

”The camera pans across, and in the stands of San Remo, every fan is crying.”

”Looks like they already have a feeling.”

”Miracles must eventually come to an end. We don’t know when that day will arrive, but…it can come at any time.”

”Lu Yang has gone over and hugged Morici, and Morici’s emotions have completely collapsed!”

The commentator’s voice is trembling slightly too.

Or rather, seeing this San Remo in front of them, no Italian could remain unmoved.

Because San Remo is the miracle that belongs to all of Italian Football.

Because compared with every past season, this season’s San Remo is just too…desolate!

Even in the Italian D Division season, they still won the Italian D Division title.

Though in everyone’s eyes that title was worth nothing, for San Remo back then, it was the heaviest trophy they could possibly fight for.

Along the way, they were never short of trophies and glory.

Yet right when they were at their peak, everything came to an abrupt end.

Serie A, sixth.

Champions League, round of sixteen.

Italian Cup…no longer matters.

Many years later, when Morici sat in front of the camera for an interview, he recalled: ”In our last season in Italy, everyone in the squad wanted a trophy with real weight to see ourselves and our teammates off.”

”But Florence were too strong. Even with only ten men, they were still unbeatable.”

”That year’s Carrel was probably one of the strongest players on the planet!”

”He personally strangled our beautiful dream, made us weep on the pitch. I completely broke down. I won’t remember wrong—I had never been that desperate and out of control on the field.”

”I cried like a child, and Lu held me, trying to steady me, but I knew he was just about to lose it too. He lives for glory; he was actually more broken than I was.”

”It’s just that I show it, while he…he’s the toughest man in the world. Even in defeat, he won’t let people see his fragile side. Maybe only Sofia knows how many tears Lu Yang shed that night after the match.”

...

On the pitch, seeing the three minutes of stoppage time, Lu Yang tried to wake his teammates up.

They still had a full three minutes!

But it was no use.

Florence didn’t give San Remo any chance.

They even launched a fierce counter when Talista’s long shot was blocked, and as Fernandez was still failing to control the ball, Versachi stepped in with another steal.

Then the surging Florence produced a brilliant counterattack.

Although Areola showed his experience, he only just managed to tip the shot behind for a corner.

Florence earned a corner kick.

There was only one minute left on the clock.

Once this corner was taken, the match would almost certainly be over.

”It’s over.”

As Versachi walked toward the corner flag, Carrel saw Lu Yang walking out of the penalty area.

He knew what Lu Yang was thinking, so he shouted to him: ”The match is already over. It’s time to say goodbye to the past…don’t let past glory chain you down. Your future will be even more brilliant; this is only a temporary hibernation.”

Lu Yang glanced at his teammates in the box. Players like Morici and Kaint, who should have been guarding the edge of the area fighting for the second ball, had all squeezed inside.

To hell with the second ball!

”But I…” Lu Yang laughed, ”I just can’t say goodbye!”

Lu Yang sprinted to the edge of the penalty area and stood with Florence’s center backs.

He was gambling.

Gambling that his teammates would win the first header, that they would control the ball, that they would send it out to him at the very first moment!

Florence were clearly not dropping their guard now.

They only had three players going up to attack the corner, with two more on the edge of the box waiting for the second ball.

Their back line was all the way up near midfield, completely locked onto Lu Yang.